Choe described Pyongyang’s nuclear status as permanent and said the country’s position would not change despite international pressure. Her statement followed South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s address to the United Nations General Assembly, where he called for efforts to stop the expansion of North Korea’s weapons capabilities and ultimately establish a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.
The latest exchange highlights the widening gap between Seoul’s push for dialogue and Pyongyang’s insistence that its nuclear programme is central to its national security.
Choe’s statement was carried by North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, KCNA. She said Pyongyang’s commitment to maintaining its nuclear arsenal would remain unchanged, describing the country’s nuclear status as irreversible.
The declaration came shortly after the foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States and Japan met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
The three countries have continued to call for the denuclearisation of North Korea and a return to diplomatic engagement. Pyongyang, however, has repeatedly rejected demands that it abandon its nuclear weapons programme.
North Korea’s government has also increasingly incorporated its nuclear capabilities into its national security framework. Reuters reported earlier this month that Pyongyang had again described its nuclear status as irreversible following criticism of its weapons programme by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The development suggests that the disagreement is not simply over negotiations but over the fundamental objective of those negotiations.
President Lee has continued to advocate engagement with Pyongyang despite the prolonged breakdown in inter-Korean relations.
At the UN General Assembly, Lee said South Korea wanted to prevent further expansion of North Korea’s weapons capabilities while working toward a future in which the Korean Peninsula is free of nuclear weapons. He also said Seoul would work to create conditions for stalled discussions between Pyongyang and Washington to resume.
South Korea’s approach comes amid efforts to reduce military tensions and reopen diplomatic channels.
The UN’s 81st General Assembly is currently holding its high-level general debate from September 22 to 26, with additional proceedings scheduled for September 28.
The diplomatic setting has therefore placed competing positions on North Korea’s nuclear programme at the centre of discussions in New York.
While South Korea has promoted dialogue, North Korea has continued to demonstrate its military capabilities.
Pyongyang said Thursday that it had tested an upgraded 240-millimetre multiple-launch rocket system on September 22. North Korean state media claimed the system could strike targets as far as 115 kilometres away.
Recent developments have included:
- Continued efforts to modernise North Korea’s military capabilities.
- Repeated assertions that its nuclear status is irreversible.
- Missile and rocket tests alongside diplomatic messaging.
- Renewed international calls for denuclearisation.
- South Korean efforts to reopen dialogue with Pyongyang and Washington.
Reuters also reported earlier in September that North Korea had tested another new weapon system, while Kim Jong Un has continued to oversee military-related activities.
The combination of weapons development and diplomatic messaging means that negotiations, if they resume, are likely to take place against a substantially different security environment from previous rounds of engagement.
The possibility of renewed US-North Korea engagement remains part of the wider diplomatic picture.
President Lee said recently that US President Donald Trump wanted dialogue with Pyongyang. Trump has previously met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un three times and has said he planned to meet him again later in 2026.
However, Pyongyang’s latest declaration complicates any diplomatic process built around the eventual elimination of its nuclear arsenal.
North Korea’s position indicates that it may seek negotiations without accepting denuclearisation as the ultimate objective. South Korea and the United States, meanwhile, have continued to publicly support denuclearisation.
That difference could become a central issue if Washington and Pyongyang return to direct negotiations.
North Korea’s foreign minister has made clear that Pyongyang currently sees its nuclear capability as a permanent part of its national security policy.
The immediate focus will shift to diplomatic engagement during the UN General Assembly and North Korea’s expected participation in the proceedings. North Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister is expected to address the General Assembly next week.
The wider international community continues to support nuclear disarmament. The United Nations has scheduled a high-level meeting on September 29 to promote the total elimination of nuclear weapons.
For now, however, the positions remain sharply divided: South Korea is advocating dialogue and an eventual nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, while Pyongyang is insisting that its nuclear arsenal will remain.
That divide is likely to shape any future negotiations involving North Korea, South Korea and the United States.
